NYYRIKKI vs FC Lahti Menace – More Than Just an Overwatch Match

This weekend see’s us move further into the Overwatch Open Division season for our third and fourth matches of the campaign as we look toward building on our 100% start so far without having dropped a single map.

Keeping a flawless record in the league is extremely important for all teams involved, with as many as two losses out ten games causing most teams to crash out of the tournament and not make it to the Contenders Playoffs.

Another team closer to home, FC Lahti Menace see themselves in a similar position to the NYYRIKKI team, with a 2-0 start. This weekend will see NYYRIKKI take on FC Lahti Menace as two of Finland’s best go head to head in the Open Division in a match up that is now considered to be a rivalry in Finland.

Since the announcement of our new roster in January, it is no secret that a lot of hard work, determination and dedication has been put in from the team to build on the foundations created to get us to where we are now, a play off favourite in the division. However, if there was one team that has been a thorn in our side along the way, since our very first officials, it’s FC Lahti Menace. Anatec’s men are a roster that are on a similar journey to us, with months of work being put in to reach the next goal of getting to the Contenders.

Although, this weekend of is of course not the first time that our two sides have met, it proves to be a vital match up for both teams.

Our two line ups first met in the Assembly OMEN by HP Pro Tournament qualifier final in January, our debut tournament weekend. Our first ever meeting with this team was in the first qualifier where we took the win before eventually falling in the final. Despite some of the most intense Overwatch in the second qualifier, that I personally have ever witnessed, someone had to come out on top and secure the last spot at Assembly. FC Lahti Menace managed to close out the final of the qualifier against us 2-1 to send themselves to the LAN finals. A truly heartbreaking defeat for our team however the signs of potential were evident as we took a lot from that tournament as a team. We were hungry for success and we wanted revenge against the FC Lahti team.

Less than two months later it was time for Finland’s 2nd biggest LAN event of the year, LanTrek 2018 where we participated in the Overwatch OMEN by HP BYOC Tournament with the aim to bring the title home from Tampere. The tournament also housed the opponent we wanted, FC Lahti Menace. With Assembly very much in our minds, we started the tournament and made the journey to the final, where we faced our last hurdle. NYYRIKKI and FC Lahti matches seem to bring out some of the best in both teams with some extremely intense Overwatch again, on display. Both sides were determined to get the win to take home the 1st place prize. It started well for us as we took the first map and a 1-0 lead in the best of 5 series. However, a resilient Menace got themselves back into the game and eventually took the win 1-3. Again, we fell on the wrong side of the result when it mattered!

NYYRIKKI has not had a victory in an official over FC Lahti in Overwatch since January of this year. This time we coming with a vendetta and our new DPS signing. We want vengeance.

NYYRIKKI Esports is a professional esports team based in Helsinki, Finland. The name Nyyrikki comes from the very depths of Finnish Mythology, the Kalevala. Nyyrikki is the Finnish God of hunting who ruled the hunt.